Daniel B. Edelman , Of Counsel
Daniel B. Edelman joins Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, after 30 years as a partner with the highly-regarded law firm of Yablonski, Both & Edelman. Mr. Edelman is Of Counsel to the firm, and handles employment discrimination, whistleblower, civil rights/civil liberties, and contractual matters. He will also head the firm's appellate practice group.
Mr. Edelman is a graduate of Harvard Univesity and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, and is widely considered to be a preeminent appellate advocate. He has been active and successful at all levels of state and federal courts.
Mr. Edelman drafted the critical appellate brief that precipitated the landmark civil rights victory in Jenson v. Eveleth Mines, the first ever sexual harassment class action, which was handled by the law firm of Sprenger & Lang. The Jenson case was the basis for the 2002 book Class Action and the 2005 movie North Country. Class Action noted that the plaintiffs called in Mr. Edelman because they needed "to deliver nothing less than a brilliant appellate brief." Mr. Edelman delivered mightily. See C. Bingham & L. Gansler, Class Action (2002)
Over the course of more than three decades, Mr. Edelman has been recognized for his outstanding representation of employees in a wide range of labor and employment litigation, nationally and in the Washington, D.C. area. He successfully represented the City of Detroit, its Police Department and individual officials in defense of protracted suits challenging the constitutionality of Detroit's affirmative action programs for promotions and layoffs of police officers. Detroit Police Officers Association v. Young, 920 F. Supp. 755 (E.D. Mich. 1995)(defense of constitutional challenge to affirmative-action promotions); NAACP v. Detroit Police Officers Ass'n and City of Detroit, 900 F.2d 903 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 983 (1990) (defense of constitutional challenge to lay-offs of minority police officers). In addition, Mr. Edelman played a principal role in the following reported cases:
Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Termination
Estes v. Georgetown University, 231 F. Supp. 279 (D.D.C. 2002)(jury verdict of compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages for claims of sex discrimination and retaliation)
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 130 F.3d 1287 (8th Cir. 1997)(appellate briefing of psychic damage issues in first-ever class sexual harassment suit.
In re Pepco Employment Litigation, C.A. No. 86-603 (D.D.C.) (represented subclass of females on claims of discrimination against black and female employees and applicants culminating in what was the largest class settlement of discrimination claims in the District of Columbia)
Bowles v. National Ass'n of Home Builders, 224 F.R.D. 246 (D.D.C. 2004)(waiver of attorney-client and work-product by defendants relating to our client's claims of tortious interference and civil conspiracy to cause wrongful termination)
Grosswald v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, C.A. No. 4212-95 (Sup. Ct. of Dist. of Col.)(defense of terminated employee's claims of discrimination and retaliation in violation of D.C. Human Rights Act culminating in summary judgment for defendant)
Moore v. United Mine Workers of America, 717 A.2d 332 (D.C. 1998)(handled union's appeal from judgment awarding compensatory and punitive damages for sex discrimination gaining reversal of punitive damage award)
Workplace Injuries and Wrongful Death
Labor Antitrust
Tice v. Pro Football, Inc., 812 F. Supp. 255 (D.D.C. 1993)(represented class in price-fixing claims based on NFL Clubs' agreement to pay fixed salaries to veteran players for the pre-season; settled for $5 million as part of comprehensive settlement of player-related litigation)
Health and Pension Benefits
Ambromovage v. United Mine Workers of America, 726 F.2d 972 (3rd Cir. 1984)(handled successful culmination of defense of union in twenty-year, multimillion dollar, pension derivative suit)
United Mine Workers of America v. Allied Corporation, 765 F.2d 412 (4th Cir.)(en banc), cert. denied, 473 U.S. 905 (1985)(represented union in suit requiring employer to provide continuing retiree health coverage as remedy for violation of collectively-bargained successorship provision)
Attorney's Fees Litigation
Chewning v. Hodel, C.A. No. 76-334 (D.D.C.)(fee counsel for eleven law firms representing subclasses of female professional employees in remedy proceedings to determine individual back pay entitlement in class sex discrimination suit against U.S. Department of Energy)
Miscellaneous Civil Litigation
Union Democracy
Local 6885, APWU v. American Postal Workers Union, 665 F.2d 1098 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (represented plaintiff class on claim that denial of right to ratify collective bargaining agreement violated union members' "bill of rights")
Regan v. Williams, 1986 WL 8413 (W.D. Pa. 1986)(secured preliminary injunction on behalf of officers of local union lifting unwarranted trusteeship imposed without hearing by United Steelworkers parent union)
Mr. Edelman has served as an expert witness in cases involving claims of legal malpractice and disputes over the appropriate amount of court-awarded fees. He has represented numerous parties in the prosecution and defense of fee claims. He has been outside counsel in employment matters to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Mr. Edelman worked with the late Joe Rauh and Chip Yablonski on the lawsuits which brought historic democratic reform to the United Mine Workers union and later served the UMW as Associate General Counsel.
Mr. Edelman is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and the bars of several federal courts of appeals. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the UDC School of Law Foundation. He is a member of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is a recipient of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's pro bono award.